Mississippi Introduces Click Through Nexus Bill

H.B. 363, introduced in the Mississippi House on January 4, will if enacted require a person who makes a remote sale to a Mississippi purchaser to collect Mississippi sales or use tax if the person solicits or transacts business in the state by employees, independent contractors, agents, or other representatives. A similar bill was introduced in the Mississippi Senate last year, but died in committee.

Under this so-called "click-through nexus" bill, there is a rebuttable presumption that a person is soliciting or transacting business in Mississippi by an independent contractor, agent, or other representative if the person enters into an agreement with a Mississippi resident under which the resident, for a commission or other consideration, directly or indirectly refers potential customers, whether by a link on an Internet website or otherwise, to the person.

Unlike similar bills in other states, this bill does not specify a threshold amount of gross receipts, proceeds, or sales by the seller that would be necessary to trigger the presumption.

A remote sale is defined as a sale of tangible personal property or specified digital products ordered by a purchaser in Mississippi from a person who receives the order outside the state and who ships the item to the purchaser in Mississippi or to another person in the state for whom the purchaser ordered the item. Every person engaged in making remote sales would be subject to Mississippi tax collection and tax administration requirements if this bill is enacted.